Finding Fulfillment by Embracing Our Limits

To be humble, to accept our limits, is to find the grounding for our becoming fulfilled. It is a striving against those limits that has led to much misery and a great deal of destruction, including the wide-scale erosion of the very soil we are supposed to move toward in our lowliness.

What if we could stop, breathe in our God-given breath, live our given lives in the forms through which we can find our fullness?

–from the book Wendell Berry and the Given Lifepping Lies and Other Stories of Bruised Grace

✞ "A friend is more to be longed for than the light; I speak of a genuine one. And wonder not: for it were better for us that the sun should be extinguished, than that we should be deprived of friends; better to live in darkness, than to be without friends." — St. John Chrysostom

✞ MEDITATION OF THE DAY "Perhaps we do not know what love is, nor does this greatly surprise me. Love does not consist in great sweetness of devotion, but in a fervent determination to strive to please God in all things, in avoiding, as far as possible, all that would offend Him, and in praying for the increase of the glory and honor of His Son and for the growth of the Catholic Church." — St. Teresa of Avila, p. 54-5 AN EXCERPT FROM Interior Castle

✞ VERSE OF THE DAY "For many are called, but few are chosen." Matthew 22:14

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ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

St. John Chrysostom (347-407 A.D.) was born to noble parents in Antioch, an important center of Christianity in his day. After the death of his father, his mother sent him to the best schools for his education. As a result of his philosophical studies he was convinced of the truth of Christianity, entered the Church, and became a renowned scholar and orator. He then adopted a life of extreme asceticism as a hermit and committed the whole of Sacred Scripture to memory. The brilliance of his mind combined with the holiness of his soul made him famous; he was ordained a bishop in Antioch and was later appointed to the Archbishopric of Constantinople. He was an incredible preacher, among the greatest in the history of the Church, which earned him the name 'Chrysostom' meaning, 'Golden-mouthed' or 'Golden tongued'. His sermons, which extended for up to two hours, were public marvels. His straightforward style of preaching the Scriptures and his practical homilies made him very popular. He also denounced the abuses of the ruling authority and preached against the immorality of the day, which resulted in him being exiled numerous times. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 451. St. John Chrysostom's feast day is September 13th.

Patron: Orators Preachers Speakers

Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Reading 1 Col 3:1-11

Brothers and sisters: If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. Because of these the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient. By these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way. But now you must put them all away: anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language out of your mouths. Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 145:2-3, 10-11, 12-13ab

R. (9) The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.

Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD and highly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable.

R. The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD, and let your faithful ones bless you. Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom and speak of your might.

R. The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.

Making known to men your might and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom. Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages, and your dominion endures through all generations.

R. The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.

Alleluia Lk 6:23ab

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Rejoice and leap for joy! Your reward will be great in heaven.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 6:20-26

Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said:

"Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.

Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way."

Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Memorial)

Seek what is above. (Colossians 3:1)

If Paul ever needed a second job, he could have easily found a position writing technical manuals. He could be clear and concise when he needed to, and he never minced his words. Just as a manual tells you how to use an appliance or piece of software, Paul tells us how to take hold of the new life that Jesus has won for us. It's as simple as ABC. Look to heaven, put off the "old self" and put on the "new self" (Colossians 3:9, 10). He even gives real-life examples of what the old self looks like so that we can identify it and deal with it—just like the illustrations in a user's manual!

If Paul is so clear on this theory, why can we sometimes feel muddled in our attempts to put it into practice? We want to overcome our old lives, but we can't seem to get very far.

One answer is that it takes time. We shouldn't think that all our sinful habits will go away overnight. That's why God has given us the gifts of Confession and the Eucharist. We need all the mercy we can get. We need the strength and grace that come from receiving Jesus in his Body and Blood. We should never discount the power of these gifts—or our need for them!

But there is another answer. Paul was clear because he had worked this out in his own life. His clarity didn't come only from deep theological inquiry. It was also forged in the daily spiritual battle that he took up. Day after day, he strove to put off his old life of violence and pride. Day after day, he strove to put on the life of peace and humility that Jesus had won for him. Day after day, he strove to keep his eyes fixed on the Lord and his heavenly glory.

If we follow Paul's lead and take up the battle ourselves, our lives will change—slowly but surely. We will begin to sense the Holy Spirit encouraging us and convincing us of God's love. We will find ourselves reflecting it to the people around us.

So take your time, and keep seeking "what is above" (Colossians 3:1).

"Lord, I want to enter into the spiritual battle today. Jesus, teach me how to put off the 'old self' and take on the 'new self.'"

Psalm 145:2-3, 10-13 Luke 6:20-26

my2cents:

"If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above..." began the first Holy Scripture today. "Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry." God says put these things to death, these idolatrous things. Idols, false passions. And He goes on "...now you must put them all away: anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language out of your mouths. Stop lying to one another..". Our Father is asking us to speak well, not ill of one another, this means stop the gossip. Your anger must stop, your fury, your vengeance, the evil, the putting of another one down. We were called to raise one another to Heaven. See what this means.

Then we pray "The Lord is compassionate toward all his works. Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD and highly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable." In Heaven, there is extreme holiness, the type we are not used to, because we are not used to giving it all. A couple different times this week I was told by different men who thanked me and admired me for all I do for the church. Baffled, I look at them, not knowing what to say, because I don't really think I do much. One of the times one of them said "the music you played at Mass sounded amazing, I don't know how you play with your broken thumb", to which I said, "that's because I don't play with my thumb, I play with my heart". These are the things I use for the Lord, the heart, what matters. Shall my sister or daughter say "thanks for all you do for the family"? No, that'd be weird, you just do things because you belong, and because you love.

In the Holy Gospel, Our Lord says some unforgettable things, things that would go down in history and forever. To this day we read them, we ponder, and try to live them out. "Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours." Can I get an Amen? So who is poor? Or, who WANTS to be poor? Who wants to have nothing? Earlier, we read about idolatry. Right now, we read about being poor, having nothing, being truly poor. And this would be everything to our Lord. Because it is only then, that He CAN BE EVERYTHING. Take your hardship, your cross, and love it. Suffering is one thing, but suffering for Christ, it is everything. One man told me last night after a 2 hour meeting at church "I will not see my children all this day, by the time I get home,they will all be in bed". I said "I know how it is" as I put my hand on his shoulder, "I too, many times go home late with tears in my eyes knowing my children went to sleep without me there". But what I often compare this to is a soldier off at war, or someone who works far away. But this war is for the Lord. This work is for God. Then I said "The Lord will provide", He makes sure you are taken care of, if you take care of HIS business. And Jesus was already at work at the age of 12 when His Mother lost him and found Him and He said to her "why were you looking for Me? Did you not know I must be about My Father's business". And Saint Joseph knew He was talking about our real Father....in Heaven. "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man." If you haven't been spit on for being Christ, if you haven't been excluded, pushed out for being Christ, If you haven't been called evil because of being Christ, then, you are missing out on a blessing.

For they spit on Christ our Lord after having beat Him up. For He has been excluded from many places...and your heart too? He was said to have been the devil for doing good things. Today, this evil exists. But this only means God exists. So take heart. Be encouraged. If God exists, then Hope exists, and hope brings charity and mercy. And if these things come to you, they are for you to live these out, to dish out, to serve.

They were serving the poor in a poor country, and they saw a boy hauling his younger brother on his shoulders for a long time and they asked him "isn't your brother heavy?" and the boy said "no he is not....I love him"